The inability to quickly conveniently and accurately define the extent of ground contamination resulting from spills of oil and other organic liquids greatly hampers compliance with existing mandates for cleanup of affected areas. The problem is exacerbated when the area is wet, or when the spill is masked by irregular ground features such as grass, mulch, or the like.
Present practices normally entail time-consuming and expensive statistical sampling and analysis techniques, both initially and also during the cleanup process. Methods have been developed which rely upon fluorescence under ultraviolet light to discriminate contaminated areas from the surroundings, based upon differences in radiation absorption, but they are found to be of only limited effectiveness and utility. A substantial need remains therefore for means by which the extent of organic liquid contamination of ground surfaces can be determined readily, effectively and with precision.